Heroes
by Miss Poison Pen
Summary: Saeko had always known her daughter was going to be a hero, she just never realized how soon. Bit of a songfic to Heroes from Wonderland the Musical.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I was in the car listening to _Wonderland the Musical_ when I got this idea. I've been wanting to do a fic for each of the Sailor Soldiers' guardians and this song was just perfect.

Heroes - _Wonderland the Musical_ (Frank Wildhorn and Jack Murphy)

_Sailor Moon_ - Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation

* * *

><p>Saeko Mizuno<p>

Heroes

They were fighting again.

Ami could hear the angry words of her parents as she sat at a coloring table her father had gotten for her. The fighting was nothing new-they'd been at it off and on for weeks-but it still tore at Ami's heart. She could have ignored it most of the time if her father hadn't dragged her name into their arguments. He always yelled things about her mother killing the joys of childhood.

_The hours move, the days go by_

_We wait for heroes to fall from the sky_

Ami colored the surroundings of the beautiful white castle that came to mind any time she needed to think of something peaceful. Her drawing of the structure was a bit lopsided and squiggly, but she knew what it looked like all the same. She focused on the still pools of water that reflected the stars and the darkness of space as her mother shouted back at her father.

Ami scrunched her nose and drew the Earth as the castle's moon while her father cursed at her mother. She didn't want to hear their fighting. She wanted to be in the castle on the moon. She wanted to sit by the still pools and look at the reflections of space.

Ami's father told her mother that he didn't know why he married her anymore. And that somehow, without ever being home and seeing her daughter longer than an hour or two, she was turning Ami into a little clone of herself.

"It's all I can do to keep her believing in fairytales and castles on the moon!" he yelled.

_Don't wait too long_

_To learn what's true_

At that moment, Ami's hand stopped and she stared at the castle she'd been coloring. Her father had told her that anything could be real. It had certainly seemed real enough when she dreamt of it, but then…so had the dreams of being a princess on the planet Mercury. Nobody could live on Mercury, she knew, but a part of her had hoped.

"Only the truth can be real," Ami muttered resolutely to herself.

With a numb feeling in her heart, she put her crayons neatly into their box. Slowly, that numbness was overcome by anger towards her father. Quickly, she stood from the little plastic chair, almost knocking it over. She ran to the other side of her room and opened the door, then dragged the plastic coloring table out of her room. She didn't want it. She didn't want the lies her father had let her create and she didn't want the hurt he had caused her mother.

After she put the little plastic chair with the table, Ami closed the door. She'd made her decision and chosen her side. She chose the side that did not lie to her.

Slowly, Ami moved to her bed. She crawled under it and dragged a massive book into the open. One of her mother's medical journals. The day she decided she wanted to be a doctor, she'd taken it. The book was so large and heavy that she'd had to slide it the entire way, but she'd gotten it back to her room. Ami had planned on keeping it until she knew enough to understand it, but now she decided to just read it over and over again until she knew and understood ever bit.

She heard her father yell one last time and stomp into the hall. She heard him stop short at the coloring table. She even heard her door open and her father demand she look at him.

She ignored it all.

She let Suoh Mizuno beg her to look at him for a time before she finally and angrily relented. She pegged her father with an icy stare that froze him to his very soul.

"You don't even know what is still keeping you here," she repeated his last shout in and even, icy voice.

The world was frozen for a time in Ami's room. She ignored her father as his breathing tightened, and returned to the medical journal to ignore him once more. She heard him whisper something to her mother about poisoning his daughter and how there was no getting her back. She listened to her father storm out of the apartment, heartbroken and angry.

_I promise…you be a hero for me and_

_I'll be a hero for you_

The front door clicked shut and her father's footsteps faded away. Only then did Ami let go of the icy shield that came so naturally to let the tears fall. Her mother was quick to her side, weeping right along with the girl. Ami snuggled into her mother's embrace, trembling as her tears fell to the breast of the woman's scrubs.

Ami listened to her mother mumbling reassurances and calling her "Ami-baby" as she so often did. She took comfort in the words and in the special name that only her mother called her. Her father had tried to put a stop to it, saying that Ami was no longer a baby and that Saeko had been spending too much time at the hospital to not have noticed. It was a few days later that Ami had waited up for her mother after her father had fallen asleep. When Saeko walked through the door, Ami ran and hugged her legs and asked her to never stop calling her "Ami-baby".

Ami loved her mother with all her heart and she understood why she spent so much time at the hospital. Her mother was a hero who saved lives every day. It was grand to think of a building filled with heroes like her mother. Someday, Ami would be a hero, too.


	2. Chapter 2

Heroes

Part 2

Day 1

It is late in the evening when Saeko returns home from work. She is exhausted, as usual, and finds relief in leaning against the wall to remove her shoes.

"Ami," she calls as she kicks her loafers aside. "I'm home!"

Further into the apartment, Saeko drops her purse and a file folder onto the coffee table. A cursory glance at the answering machine indicates no missed calls.

"Ami," she calls again after hearing no movement from the direction of her daughter's room. She heads into the kitchen while she waits for a response and rummages around a moment for the tea kettle.

After setting some water to boil and still hearing nothing, Saeko leaves the kitchen in search of Ami. The living area of the apartment is dark and empty; the bathroom is unlit and unoccupied; her bedroom door is ajar and the only thing running is her computer.

"I guess she's not home," Saeko says to herself, deciding to just have her tea and go to bed. She is sure to see Ami tomorrow.

Day 2

Morning arrives faster than Saeko appreciates and she drags herself out of bed with quite a bit of difficulty. On her way to the bathroom, she passes Ami's bedroom-still unoccupied. It takes her mind quite a while to process that there are no other sounds-no other signs of life-in the apartment.

"She must have stayed at a friend's…"

One shower later, Saeko checks the home phone and her cell phone for any missed messages-particularly from Ami. Again, there is nothing, but Saeko forces the whispers of unease from her mind and heads off to work.

Again, evening falls; again, Saeko returns from work and calls for her daughter; again, she is greeted by silence.

She stands in the doorway, stomach churning in panic. She doesn't take her shoes off before rushing through the apartment, looking for any sign of Ami. She finds the planner they share and pours over it, praying that she just missed something. When that yields nothing, she goes for the phone.

"Hino…Hino," she says to herself as she dials in the number. As she listens to the ringing on the other end, her stomach drops. She recalls Ami saying something about Rei being missing. In fact, she remembers her daughter being particularly stressed about it.

"Good evening," a man's voice calls through the receiver, startling Saeko out of her thoughts. "Hino residence at the Hikawa Shrine."

"Yes, good evening, Mr. Hino." Saeko flushes at herself for not knowing the old man's name. She doesn't feel it is particularly acceptable for a grown woman to call a man she barely knows "grandpa". "This is Ami's mother, Saeko Mizuno. I'm sorry to bother you so late, but I was wondering if you'd seen my daughter?"

"No, I'm sorry-Saeko, did you say? I haven't seen any of the girls since Rei disappeared. They're all trying very hard to find her, you know."

"Yes, I do. I'm sorry for your loss, sir. And thank you for your time."

"Don't worry yourself," Rei's grandfather tells her. "They're a strong bunch. They'll make it through."

After exchanging goodbyes, Saeko decides to try the Tsukino household. Usagi's mother, Ikuko, answers the phone and chats with her on the way to Usagi's room. "Usagi was already worried about Rei," she says, "but for Ami to go missing as well!"

Finally the phone is passed to Usagi. Saeko explains herself again and asks after her daughter. Any information would be a big help.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Mizuno, but I don't know where she is," Usagi mumbles sullenly. "I'm sorry," she reiterates before hanging up.

Saeko's chest is starting to clench rather painfully and she has to remember to breathe normally.

_Kino, then. Maybe something happened and she's hiding out at Makoto's._

With shaking hands, she punches in the phone number and waits. Before long, the answering machine picks up.

"Makoto, we don't know each other, but this is Saeko Mizuno-Ami's mom. I haven't been able to get in touch with Ami for a couple of days and was wondering if you maybe knew where she was-is. I'm worried, so if you could call me back that would be great." With a final breath, she leaves her home number and cell number and hangs up.

Saeko sighs and taps her head on a wall. "Ami, where are you?"

In a final attempt, she dials the Aino household and waits.

"Aino residence, Mina speaking!" chirrups a voice on the other end.

"Mina, it's Ami's mom. I'm trying to find my daughter." Her voice is strained, she can tell.

Silence is all that comes through the line for a long time. "I'm sorry," the blonde on the other end finally says. "I can't help you right now."

"Wait! You know something?" Saeko's heart leapt into her throat, the words _right now_ echoing through her mind. "Please! Where is she? You have to tell me!"

"I'm sorry. I can't. All I can say is she disappeared from the chess tournament. Don't ask me any more."

Saeko stands dumbfounded at the click on the other end, no closer to her daughter beyond her friends having lost track of her at the chess tournament.

She spends the remainder of the evening calling the late-running cram schools and glancing at the door every five minutes. Ami has to be somewhere!

Day 3

The morning sun finds Saeko curled on the living room couch in an awkward position. She hardly pauses to be disgruntled about the pain in her neck and back before she calls for Ami again and looks for her shoes. Still nothing.

She calls off work and proceeds to eat breakfast only because she knows Ami would scold her if she ever found out she skipped the meal.

The morning is spent calling the school and subsequently yelling at them for a good hour for not calling home about Ami's absence the day before. "I don't care what you figured! If a student is absent without prior notice from the guardian, it is your _job_ to call the household!"

Afterwards, she calls the police department to file a missing person report. An officer arrives at her home a short while later, and she gives as much information as she can.

The day passes slowly after that, and the intermittent thunder storms do nothing for her mood. She paces. She calls around a second and third time.

That evening, she is startled by a key turning in the lock. Saeko jumps to her feet and rushes to the door, praying that Ami has finally come home! She doesn't expect the door to open on a very tall brunette who is obviously shocked to see the doctor standing there.

There is a long moment of silence before the girl clears her throat and bows slightly. "I got your message ma'am. I'm Makoto Kino."

"Nice to meet you," Saeko whispers out. She can barely manage that. Her heart is in a million pieces at her feet. "I'm sorry. I'm so worried about Ami."

"Me, too. Would you mind if I looked around her room?"

The request strikes Saeko as odd, but so does the girl standing before her. Instead of the exceptionally sad expression she would expect from one of Ami's friend's this girl wears an intense and puzzled look. She can only nod her approval and follow Makoto to Ami's room.

Makoto wastes no time when she enters Ami's room. She goes straight for the broken drawer of the desk and pries it open with a letter opener. Inside, there is a binder and a few notebooks. Saeko catches a glimpse of some of the labels. Names such as _Silver Millennium_, _Dark Kingdom_, and one labeled _UFO: Black Moon_.

"Are those stories she's written? She never lets me read her writing anymore." Even to her own ears her voice sounds drained and defeated.

Makoto ignores her for a time. "Sort of," she says after a long moment, flipping open the UFO notebook. "I might be a bit," she says in a distracted manner, an obvious dismissal without actually saying the words. Saeko, at a loss, leaves the girl to her own devices.

Day 4

Makoto had stayed all night, Saeko realizes in the morning. She peeks into Ami's room on her way to the shower and sees the girl propped against Ami's bed. She is asleep, still, and her cheeks appear to be stained with dried tears. Three notebooks and a binder lay scattered around her, and the computer is zipping through what appear to be newspaper clippings and internet news.

"Makoto," Saeko calls gently. "Makoto, it's morning. You'll want to get ready for school." She waits until the girl stirs to continue. "I'll press your uniform while you shower. Come on."

Somehow, the two make it through the morning together with very few awkward moments. Conveniently, Ami has a drawer filled with emergency clothing for each of the girls, so fresh undergarments are not an issue. Saeko does make the girl take a bit of cough medicine before she leaves, having heard her coughing lightly since she woke. "There's a cold going around."

"I'm fine."

Saeko laughs to herself as she recalls Ami telling her that Makoto hates medicine.

That afternoon finds Saeko wishing Makoto would come back over, but she feels it would be inappropriate to call and invite the girl. Instead, she sits alone in the living room watching the news.

"…_Tokyo is in the midst of severe thunderstorms…_"

"_Now for our next topic…_"

"_There are many rumors about the 'mystery circles'. This one was discovered in an abandoned area in the south of town. Witnesses claim they saw a light in the sky the night the grass was beaten down. We believe this is a supernatural phenomenon! There are rumors this could be a UFO landing site…_"

Suddenly disgusted, Saeko switches the television off. Ridiculous.

Day 5

Saeko is fed up with what is appropriate and what is not by three in the afternoon. She calls Makoto…and receives no answer. That is not necessarily surprising, but for some reason her stomach drops. She leaves a message asking after the young woman's cough, and leaves it at that.

By eight-o-clock that night, she is worried that she still has gotten no response and calls again. The answering machine picks up. She states that she is worried and is coming over to make sure Makoto is all right.

It takes Saeko fifteen minutes to walk to Makoto's apartment building and another three to climb the stairs and find the spare key.

Inside, plants are toppled, the coffee table is broken, and the television set is still on.

"What in the world…"

The sliding door to the balcony is wide open, and the carpet damp where the rain had blown in.

Saeko feels the fear rise up in her throat. Ami always told her how neat Makoto was. She would never leave her apartment like this.

_Has Makoto disappeared, as well?_

Day 9

Time has nearly halted for Saeko. Every second seems to crawl by at a snail's pace. She can feel it. She can feel the weight of time.

Her daughter and two of her friends have suddenly disappeared. No one knows where they are. Usagi and Minako are avoiding her phone calls now. She is sure they know something, but for some reason they won't tell her.

Day 12

She'd gone to work for the last three days. After all, she has responsibilities and vacation time can only get you so far.

The television is on-mainly to fill the silence-playing some sort of channeling program. Ridiculous.

"…_mark of the White Moon will bring disaster to the Earth…by way of the Silver Imperium Crystal!_"

Rubbish.

Day 15

Saeko wakes up on the couch again. She finds it is becoming a habit to sleep in the living room. It's not even seven in the morning, so she really isn't sure what roused her.

Voices in the hall. Saeko can hear voices in the hall just outside the apartment.

A key in the lock, and her heart jumps into her throat.

The door slides open easily and quietly, two girls stepping through the threshold.

Saeko chokes, an odd squeaking noise that she normally would have been mortified to have made. It takes a moment for her to get off the couch, as her muscles are stiff from sleeping there for the better part of two weeks.

"Ami…" she breathes, heading over to her daughter, who seems stunned to see her.

"Mom."

Saeko can see the bags under her daughter's eyes and the fatigue in her shoulders. She glances quickly at Makoto who seems to be in the same boat.

She moves to hug Ami, dragging Makoto into the affair by her wrist. Tears spring, unbidden, into her eyes and her vision blurs with the happiness she hadn't felt for two weeks. "Oh, my God! You're safe! You're all right!"

Saeko can feel Ami's breath hitch just as a touch of moisture hits her neck where the girl has buried her face.

"Shh, shh… It's okay. You're home. I'm here." She brushes her daughter's hair about with her hand in an effort to soothe the girl.

Makoto attempts to pull away from the group hug, but Saeko pulls her back. She releases some of her hold on Ami in order to pull the taller girl down for a proper hug. It feels strange to be so intimate with her daughter's friend, but she will plead hysteria if any fuss is made.

"You girls have no idea how worried I've been," she scolds, halfheartedly.

"I'm sorry, mom."

"Me, too."

Saeko finally releases them from the hug, giving each a once-over. "Are you hurt? Did anything terrible happen to you?"

Both girls seem to be fine beyond being tired.

"What happened?" she finally asks.

There is a beat of silence when the girls look at each other. "It doesn't matter," Makoto settles on. "Sailor Moon saved us."


End file.
